Q: I’m rather new to Centering Prayer. Perhaps the most common thought I have while practicing, which takes me away from my sacred word, is an awareness of my breathing. […]
Approaching Clergy about Centering Prayer
Q: What are the best means of getting your local priest involved in Centering Prayer? A: Your question is lacking in details so let me respond in a generic way. […]
Fees for Spiritual Resources
Q: Why are there fees for spiritual teachings and offerings? A: Contemplative Outreach offers a wide variety of both free and paid resources and support, ensuring our programs are as […]
Centering Prayer, Unloading and the Nights
Q: I have been practicing Centering Prayer off and on for about 18 years and more intensely during the past year and a half or so. For many years I had […]
Awareness & Centering Prayer
Q: Where does one initially place their awareness during Centering Prayer? In other words, when introducing the sacred word does one let the awareness float up toward heaven someplace “outside” […]
The Dying Process
Q: Our Centering Prayer group has been watching the Gift of Life DVD and benefiting by it. We are hearing about persons who spend considerable time in the dying process. […]
The Consequences of “Sin”
Q: Father Thomas teaches with authority that God has forgiven our sins. But he also sometimes seems to say that we are stuck with “the consequences of our sins.” How […]
On Becoming Myself
My True Self, are you there hiding behind the fear? Are you there, my True Self; a shadow unknown, unseen, But felt in sudden shudders and closed heart? Are you […]
My Experience with the Living Flame Program
The St. Louis chapter hosted the Living Flame Program in 2012 and 2013. I was asked to share my experience of that time, which I recall fondly. The Living Flame […]
Divine Therapy through Centering & Welcoming Prayer
I experienced another person’s energy when I first started my medical career. As a trauma team lead during my medical training, a motorcycle wreck victim was brought in. It was […]
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A Very Different Holy Week
How could we make Holy Week special? My husband cannot make the 3 p.m. Good Friday service as feeding time is 3:30 p.m. There was no way either of us […]
The Soul and the True Self
Q: I am currently wrestling with various concepts and definitions and how they fit together. When it comes to the false self and the true self I find the glossary at […]
The Purification of the Nights
Q: I am currently undergoing the dark night of the soul for the 2nd /3rd time. I have read a lot about John of the Cross and other authors. I […]
Teaching Centering Prayer in Seminaries
Q: Father Arico, our Centering Prayer group is reading your book A Taste of Silence. After the introduction where you share your experience of Centering Prayer, our discussion led us […]
Receptivity
Q: I am a commissioned presenter of the Centering Prayer introductory workshop and when I am elaborating on the notion of being receptive I describe the proper disposition as one […]
Que Sera Sera
Lyrics from a popular Doris Day song from the 1950‚Äôs: ‚ÄúQue sera sera, whatever will be, will be;the future‚Äôs not ours to see, que sera sera‚Äù A few years ago […]
Motivations and Service
Q: In the past year I’ve have fully realized the Martha in me and my false-self motivations that permeated years of ministry. By God’s grace the Illuminative way is proceeding […]
A Blessed Psalm
Blessed are those who, when there is nowhere left to go, turn inward; for they shall find the Center of all. Your love sustains Blessed are those who dwell in […]
Unsure of the Outcomes of Prayer
Q: I always try contemplative prayer, and it seems to be working. How can one be sure that the outcome (even though negative at times) is working for the right? […]
The Relevance of a Contemplative Practice Today
What is the relevance of a contemplative practice today? What fruits have you noticed in your life and what do you understand by the purification process? With the rapid evolution […]
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Prayer in Secret
An inner turningOf the heart and mind;An unseen embraceInto Love divine. What deep communionIs this secret prayer;A constant unfoldingInto Love‚Äôs great care. The sweetness of engaged delightAway from the worldYet […]
On the 30th Anniversary of Contemplative Outreach
Dear Fr. Thomas and Contemplative Outreach associates, I‚Äôm grateful to God for Fr. Thomas‚Äô inspired vision in founding Contemplative Outreach 30 years ago, and for the many following years of […]
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Mercy Will Prevail
Q: I am a lay contemplative catholic who would greatly appreciate your insight on the following matter. I see a world of one creator who has created both hell and […]
INSPIRATION KEATS (PROGRESSIVE ASPECT)
Kneeling in a vast hemispherical hall, I am surrounded by what seem to me must be the souls of all who have ever lived and of all those who ever […]
Centering Prayer and Profanity
Q: I tried Centering Prayer for some time but reached a point where during my prayer time I was constantly assailed by profane words, words I assiduously avoid in my […]
